Antiquaries

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Fortuny's lively and brilliant paintings, with their sparkling, flecked brushstrokes, brought him fame not only in his native Spain but also in Italy, France, and the United States. Here, two gentlemen in eighteenth-century dress study a portfolio of engravings in a room crowded with works of...

Fortuny's lively and brilliant paintings, with their sparkling, flecked brushstrokes, brought him fame not only in his native Spain but also in Italy, France, and the United States. Here, two gentlemen in eighteenth-century dress study a portfolio of engravings in a room crowded with works of art. When the painting was purchased in 1867 by the American W. H. Stewart, one of Fortuny's chief patrons, the artist added a likeness of Stewart, clad in armor, in the elaborate frame over the mantel.